


The first name comes before the first date

by snarkfromtheark



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Artist Merlin, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 21:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5601685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkfromtheark/pseuds/snarkfromtheark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hogwarts AU where Merlin is a clumsy idiot and Arthur loves every second of it</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fingerprintbruises](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fingerprintbruises/gifts).



Arthur turned down the corridor anxiously, hugging his cloak close to himself and looking around to see if anybody could see him. 

He was Head Boy, and father was running for re-election as Minister of Magic. This was nothing but a stupid risk and he didn't know if this was going to be worth it, or if this "Merlin" guy could actually give him what he wanted.

Everybody had been gossiping about Merlin's tattoo work lately, but Arthur didn't believe any of it until Gwaine had come back with one of his own.  
——————————————————————————  
Gwaine had come barging into his private room, somehow having gotten his password again. Arthur thinks his portrait is just letting Gwaine in, because the witch likes the way Gwaine flirts with her. 

Gwaine had gotten a really intricate and complex compass tattoo design on his wrist, but the amazing part of it was that that the needle actually moved and gave direction like a real compass. 

Then after that Leon had come back with tattoo announcement as well. Arthur had been excited to see it, more excited than he'd care to admit. 

When he asked to see it, Leon took off his dark gray knitted v-neck sweater, and unbuttoned his white button up shirt and said "You are seeing it.". 

"Leon, that's not funny." Arthur said disappointedly.

The only marks on the patch of skin Leon was showing off were his freckles, and he was pretty sure that those were natural and not tattooed. 

He'd been curious about the artist since Gwaine first came back. Who was this “Merlin”, and really, who gives their kid such a ridiculous name for an actual wizard?

"Arthur, you really are seeing it", with a quick swish of his wand and an Aparecium cast on himself, a giant and highly realistic and yet still artistic Lion appeared starting on Leon's right shoulder and stretching across most of his right pec roaring loudly at Arthur. 

“Leon, could you be anymore of a gryffindork?” 

“I'll start trying the day you wear anything besides your house colors. You big Hufflep-hmm give me a second here.”

“I'm sorry what, what was that Leon? I couldn't hear you.” Arthur taunted.

“You're such a hufflep-idiot?” Leon said apprehensively. 

“Wow, that really hurt man. Come on let's get to class and I'll try and work through the pain.” Arthur said collecting all of his things.

“You can get to class, the only thing I’m getting back to is bed.”

Leon had elected to take his study hall as his first class. The lazy lout just liked sleeping in, and only used study hall for studying when he had forgotten to finish homework the night before. Arthur however had a class to get to, and in a hurry.

Arthur raced down the corridors of the castle, knowing their propensity to switch at random. 

In his hurry, he crashed right into a lanky Slytherin with raven colored hair who was so clumsy he knocked them both down.

“Oy! Watch where you're going prat.” Said the nameless boy. 

“You would've seen me coming if you didn't have the world's most idiotic haircut.” Arthur replied in his most hauty voice. 

The boy, who was seemed to be made of nothing but odd angles, simply smiled in return. Most disturbing to Arthur was that the smile seemed genuine.

“It's been a while since anybody talked to me like that.” The strange boy responded. 

“Well, I'm not just anybody. I'm Arthur Pendragon, and as much fun as this has been, I've got runes to get to.”

Arthur had to run to class to make it to class on time. Barely.

Arthur tried very hard to pay attention to class, but deciphering runes from a book was hard to care for when Arthur's mind was wandering.

He kept thinking back to the clumsy boy with hair in his eyes. Who was he? It wasn't unusual to talk to a Slytherin who has a sense of entitlement. However one who didn't know or care that he was a Pendragon, that was indeed rare. 

Arthur was finally able to take his mind off it when his next class started. 

Most students dropped care of magical creatures in 6th year, but Arthur truly loved it. 

His father and him were hunting when he was younger and he almost killed a Unicorn. Since then Arthur has been taken with the field of study. 

Today was discussing thestrals. The class would see a live demonstration, but not many people could see the thestrals. Unfortunately Arthur was among the few that could. 

You could only see the thestrals if you've witnessed a death. 

Now that he had the peace of mind to think about something other than mystery boy, he remembered unfortunately how much he was dreading his next class. 

Defense against the dark arts. Normally a perfectly enjoyable class. However yesterday, Filch had discovered a boggart hiding out inside a dark cabinet of the restricted section in the library. 

So once the bell rang Arthur knew what he was in for. He had to go and quite literally face his fears. 

“Welcome class! Today we will be uncovering the darkest depths of the mind and learning defense against the greatest enemy you will ever face. Yourselves.” Bellowed the teacher.

What a drama queen. 

The fears were pretty standard. An angry McGonagall, quidditch mishaps, giant spiders, Madam Pomfrey with scary big needles, heights, and one of the younger students was afraid of the darkness. 

All what Arthur was expecting, until the mystery boy from earlier stepped forward. He wasn't in this class, but because practical application was rare for school use, some classes were combined. 

The boggart shifted into a kind looking woman. She looked to be in her late 40’s. However, it seemed a stupid thing to be afraid of. That is until her bones started making an awful snapping noise, and her kind face started bruising and distorting in hideous ways. 

The boy started to run forward to help her. Arthur went to hold the boy back, that wasn't how boggarts worked. He simply had to yell “ridiculous” to make it stop. If he was able to confuse the boggart he could even make it disappear with a laugh. Arthur wondered how this boy would look laughing. 

When Arthur moved forward to help the boy (whose name Arthur was still dying to know) the boggart changed its attentions to him. The boggart seemed to have been confused by Arthur; good. It kept almost shifting into something and then changing.

Arthur had neither the time or patience for this. Right when he was about to dispose of the boggart properly, as a head boy should, a blue stream of light came out of nowhere.

The boggart exploded. Well that was certainly new. 

He looked to see where the light had come from and he saw the Slytherin boy looking down at his hands looking as confused as Arthur felt.

It wasn't just that boggarts aren't meant to explode, it was the fact that the boy hadn't cast a spell. 

Even if it was a nonverbal spell (Which were difficult but not impossible.) Arthur had never seen raw magic like that. That was saying something considering he was on his final year of magic school. 

There wasn't much Arthur wanted that he had to work for with his families money and strong social status. Although when Arthur thought about it, the boy didn't even show a reaction at the last name Pendragon. Everybody always had one, good or bad, but this boy was something different. 

If Arthur was going to have to work to get his name so be it. He may as well try and learn anything else he could about him while he was at it. 

Arthur didn't know what made this boy so mysterious and captivating, but he was going to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur thought that immediately at the end of class, students would crowd the boy to congratulate him on his impressive use of magic.

The exact opposite seemed to be true. Instead everybody spoke in hushed tones and stared at the mysterious Slytherin. 

Arthur was a Pendragon, so he knew how to take an opportunity when he had one. Arthur caught up to the other boy, but the timing seemed to be unfortunate. The boy seemed to be turning around to go in the opposite direction. 

For the second time today, they crashed into each other and ended up a tangle of limbs on the floor.

However this time seemed different. This time they held each other's gaze before attempting to stand up and then stood silently unsure of how to proceed. 

“We’ve got to stop meeting each other like this” Arthur said boldly breaking the silence. 

“I was just thinking the opposite” said the boy cheekily.

“Oh…umm...yes, well.” Arthur stumbled once again on unsure footing. 

“I've done it, I've taken down the great quidditch champion!” The boy started.

“Well,I don't really think that's neces-”

“They said it couldn't be done, but the great Emrys has done it! The famed chaser of hufflepuff, the golden boy, defeated at last.”

“You done yet?” Arthur asked seriously.

Arthur probably could've pretended for a while that he was annoyed, however his traitorous body couldn't stop a smile from erupting. 

“So Emrys, is that a first name or last name type of deal” Arthur asked. The curiosity was threatening to his life at this point.

“It's a last name type of deal, but it's all you're getting Pratdragon.” Emrys replied.

Arthur had never experienced being spoken to before in this manner. 

“If you know my last name, then you know a last name is all I need to find out everything I could ever want to know about you.” Arthur said confidently.

“Ahhh, but the fun lies in the mystery.” Emrys teased.

“Tell me, then mystery man...well not quite man, you're quite lanky you know.” Arthur said while almost reaching out to touch the other boy as to prove how lanky. Luckily his Pendragon training finally kicked in, and he stopped himself.

“Oy! What are you trying to say?” Emrys said getting ready to fight Arthur. The thought was almost laughable, and somehow made Arthur think back to the two of them sprawled on the floor. 

“Ah yes, I did have a point. What is your first name? Tell me so we can save ourselves both sometime?” Arthur asked in a sure tone. 

“What if I don't want my real name following me?” The boy asked. 

“Are you hiding from the law or reputation?” Arthur said mock seriously.

“Hiding from assumptions of who I'm meant to be.” Emrys replied thoughtfully.

“I understand, however you already know who I am. So I suppose it's too late to leave much of a mystery there.” said Arthur.

“You are so wrong. You remain an enigma to me. How about we make a deal?”

This was territory Arthur was familiar with. He felt pretty confident asking the terms of the agreement.

“I will tell you my name, when you manage to genuinely impress me. Deal?” Emrys asked.

“Deal.” Arthur agreed thinking he'd won.

Arthur tried everything he could think of in the coming weeks to impress Emrys. He could have just backed down from the challenge and asked using his resources quickly. However he was a Pendragon, and they did not lose. 

He tried small gestures first. Like sending a paper bird during Professor Binns class that said “I'm awake, and i even some took notes.” 

Any normal person would've been impressed by that. It took superhuman restraint.

However when he looked to Emrys all he got was a small nod of his head no.

Then he tried bigger gestures like saving the entire quidditch game, but when he looked to Emrys all he got was another small no.

After this he was frustrated Gwaine wouldn't stop teasing him endlessly when he found Arthur's list of “small ways to impress a giant dork.” 

It was at this point that he bought the vast majority of Honeydukes stock for the day and had it sent to the Slytherin common room with a note that said for Emrys. 

Come to think of it he probably should've put who it was from. However Arthur knew it reached Emrys when once again he received a note back this time that said dollop head. 

He tried to figure out what that even meant when he was looking at him in class the next day. 

He found himself doing that a lot lately. As it turned out they had 3 classes together. Arthur could not even pay attention in care of magical creatures anymore. 

It was hard to once he realized that Emrys sat in front of him in one of his classes. Which gave Arthur a chance to stare at him unabashed. 

Arthur began to pay attention to the other boys high cheekbones instead of the words in his textbook, trying to decipher the exact shade of blue in his eyes instead of deciphering his runes, and finally paying special attention to his  
lips instead of listening to the words coming out of the teachers.

For Arthur it was all cause for concern. He hadn't felt this way for anybody since Gwen, but his Father sent her away to Beauxbatons in hopes of Arthur dating somebody who'd provide better political advantages. It was almost poetic that her and his half sister Morgana seemed to be getting very close lately. 

Finally Arthur had given up in impressing Emrys. There was no way it seemed. He was an impossible person really.


	3. Chapter 3

As the anniversary of Ygraine rolled around this year, for once Emrys was far from his mind.

Headmaster McGonagall had given his family permission to use the floo system. 

Morgana accompanied Arthur, and together they left to join Uther in another years standing quiet and perfectly still at Yrgaine’s grave. All Arthur knew about his mother was based off of memories of other people. 

Arthur spent the following night trying to think of a better way to honor Ygraine’s memory. Finally when he saw the sun peaking it's face out of the horizon, he knew what he wanted to do in honor of his mother.

He finally decided he would get one of the new tattoos everybody was talking about. He decided he wanted to get a forest that's tree branches spelled out Ygraine's name. It was to represent as well her maiden last name De Bois which meant “of the woods” in French.

He wanted to have the trees change with the seasons,and disappear when it could be seen publicly. He wasn't sure if this could all be done, even using the new tattoo methods. 

He'd have to find this “Merlin” person first. Really what an arrogant twat this guy must be. If you're going to make up a name for yourself, maybe take a step down from the most famous wizard to ever live. 

Finding him was exceedingly easy. It was as simple as just asking Leon and Gwaine when they were at Hogsmeade on field trip. Well asking Gwaine after one pint at the Three Broomsticks that is. Gwaine would tell Arthur anything at the price of a Butterbeer.

As it turned out there was a tattoo shop hidden if you'd down the alley that was just empty space behind Zonko’s joke shop. Arthur left immediately after getting all the information from his friends.

He hugged his cloak tightly around him knowing that tattooes was not something his father would want his son being associated right now at a crucial point in his campaign.

Leon told him you had to tap the brick that was a different shade than the rest of them three times with your wand and whisper Alohomora. 

 

Arthur found the space easily and followed the steps and then with a click a door opened within the bricks. After checking for people around, Arthur stepped through. 

What he found on the other side was a small cozy area. The space seemed to be made up of lots of blues and reds. The walls were all lined with jars and herbs. It reminded him of a small apothecary him and Morgana had once found while traveling on summer vacation. 

Whoever had designed it obviously had some good taste. There was a counter with somebody working away behind it. When Arthur cleared his throat the boy looked up. It was Emrys, and while Arthur's first thought should've been as to why he was here, instead his thoughts were simply confirming his earlier assessment that whoever ran the store had good taste indeed. 

“Arthur, what are you doing here?” Emrys asked.

“I was looking for somebody to teach me to knit.” Arthur replied with a straight face. 

“Well no need to get sarcastic, I was just checking.” Emrys said

“So, what are you doing working here? I wasn't aware you had time for a job aside from being a dollop-head.” Arthur said casually.

“Hey! That's my word, and I happen to own this place.” Emrys said dramatically. 

“Ah so you're Merlin. So you won't tell me your name and you've made up this ridiculous monicker instead? Far lengths for a man with nothing to hide.” Arthur teased.

“That happens to be my real name, you big huffleprat.” Merlin said while sticking out his tongue. Arthur watched the childish motion more carefully than he'd ever admit to. 

“You're creativity never ceases to amaze me. So..umm...Merlin..Do you actually run a business here?

“Oh yes. Of course! Sorry I guess it's a party in the front and business in the back type of deal. Follow me.” 

As Arthur followed Merlin to a small room in the store. Merlin kept laughing at what he's said earlier as if it was funny. When Arthur tried to get the answers as to why it was so funny, Merlin simply replied “it's a muggle thing.”

This man was going to kill Arthur from frustration alone.

Merlin grabbed a sketch pad and sat down with Arthur. 

“So do you have an idea of what you want tattooed on you or where?” Merlin asked.

Arthur described what it was that he wanted to Merlin carefully down to the last detail. Merlin looked at him, giving him a considering type of gaze. 

“Now I'm not the type of tattoo artist who would reccomend getting a girls name tattooed on you, but you seem to have really given this a lot of thought. I'm going to give this my best shot of giving you what it is you want, okay?” Merlin said cautiously.

“Thank you.” Arthur said his most earnest tone.

Merlin started working on the basic outlines of the tree and Arthur was content to just let him work away when suddenly Merlin put the pencil down and looked at Arthur. 

“So Ygraine is...who to you exactly?” Merlin started.

“Now I don't see how that matters.” Arthur replied briskly. 

It was a tender subject for Arthur, and of the many things Arthur detested talking about his feelings was at the top. 

“It could affect the quality the tattoo you see, if I don't know the story behind it.” Merlin said airily. 

“My mother. She was my mother. Is my mother still I suppose.”

At first Merlin just seemed relieved of something. Then he supposed Merlin finally understood the meaning behind his words, and his expression changed to a kind and gentle one. 

“Oh I'm so-what happened?” Merlin said softly.

“She died during childbirth. I never really knew her, but I've never met anyone with anything but the fondest memories of her.” Arthur said unsure why he was revealing so much.

Merlin seemed to take in all this information in and then start sketching madly as if inspiration had struck him and was going to leave as soon asthenosphere pencil stopped moving. 

When Arthur saw the design it was different than what he anticipated. The tree was upside down and the tattoo started on his neck instead of his back. However with the collared shirts he was almost always wearing it wouldn't show normally anyways. 

After carefully assessing the design Arthur thought to himself it was better this way. 

Merlin asked Arthur to remove his shirt so they could see the tattoo and how it would look before actually inking Arthur. 

When Arthur removed his shirt, Merlin tried to move past him and ended up tripping splaying his hands into Arthur's chest for balance. With a blush that reached the tips of his ears, Merlin righted himself and went to get the transfer paper. Arthur could've sworn he heard Merlin mutter “that would've been one way to impress me” under his breath. 

Merlin transferred the tattoo from the paper to his back and showed it to Arthur. After seeing the design Arthur nodded his consent and went to the working area to start the actual tattoo. 

It was an exquisite type of torture. Not the needles piercing his skin, but having Merlin be this close but not be able to touch him or even move. Arthur could feel his breath ghosting over his neck while he worked currently and it was driving him mad.

They made some casual conversation while Merlin worked away. They spoke of Arthur's childhood running around the Pendragon manor. It was big enough that it seemed like a castle to Arthur growing up.

From there they moved to Merlin’s upbringing with Hunith. What it was like growing up in the muggle world, and then growing up a halfblood like Merlin versus growing up a pure blood like Arthur. 

Merlin explained that combining Muggle and Wizard techniques is what gave him the idea behind the tattoo. Merlin explained how the tattoo worked by using the enchanted ink from the moving pictures to make the tattoos move, and an Aparecium charm to make the ink appear and disappear as wanted. 

Arthur and Merlin moved from topic to topic without cease both enjoying the others company. 

As the time went on Arthur steadily built up a resistance to the onslaught of hormones trying to take control of his body. However some of that resistance was tested every time Merlin made a little sigh while working. 

When Merlin declared it was done, Arthur was embarrassed to say that he may not have even noticed if it was terrible work once completed.

However it was actually quite breathtaking. 

“Holy shit, Merlin. Like actually. What the fuck.” Arthur said in a shocked tone.

“I'll take that as a good thing?” Merlin said smiling.

“Yeah, just wow.” Arthur continued unsure of what to say.

Arthur paid for the tattoo and as he was about to leave Merlin shouted for him to wait. 

Merlin caught Arthur at the door. “You paid two galleons extra.” Merlin said out of breath. 

“Oh, no that was on purpose. You can use that to buy me coffee. I was thinking maybe this Saturday.” Arthur replied cockily. 

“Woah. Slow down there. You never even impressed me enough to get my name fair and square, what makes you think I'd want to go on a date with you?” Merlin said just as confidently.

Arthur backed Merlin up against the door and pressed his lips harshly into Merlin’s soft lips. 

Merlin was still, not responding to into his kiss. Arthur decided that it was best not to force himself on Merlin. Just as he was pulling away, Merlin fisted his hand into Arthur's shirt. 

“Now that's just not fair, because now there is no way I could avoid saying yes to a date.”

Merlin took Arthur's confused face into his hands and finally put Arthur out of his misery and kissed him back. Arthur's brain finally caught up with his body and he started to kiss Merlin back with fervor

Arthur slid his hands into Merlin's hair. One of Merlin’s hands went to holding Arthur's jaw, and the other lay possessively on Arthur's hip. 

Just as Arthur tilted his head to deepen the kiss, the two of them were startled by a resounding  
“ahem, excuse me but this is a public area and there are children around.” 

The two of them turned around to see an embarrassed Leon looking at the ground and Gwaine looking impossibly smug.

Arthur would never live this down.

“So umm see you Saturday?” Arthur said hopefully.

“Yeah, maybe sooner. You know where to find me.” Merlin replied flustered.

 

Arthur went to join his friends and “kindly” informed them that they had the world's worst timing. His threats didn't seem too intimidating when Gwaine was still shouting about how his virgin eyes had been sullied.

**Author's Note:**

> If you find any grammar issues please let me know, and I will fix them asap.
> 
> What I think each tattoo would look like:
> 
> Arthur's :   
> http://www.dumpaday.com/random-pictures/top-tattoos-of-the-week-20-pics/attachment/best-tattoos-big-tree-tattoo-on-back/
> 
> Leon's :   
> http://tattoosme.com/lion-tattoos/  
> -Leon's would look like the lion rampant tattoo on shoulder 
> 
> Gwaine's :  
> http://www.tattoobite.com/realistic-grey-compass-and-map-tattoos-on-forearm/


End file.
